Black & Blue
by SparkOfShadow
Summary: Red vs Blue fanfic! The background of one of the only RvB characters that HAS a background, Tex. Chapter 4: First Sign of the Morning Light
1. Problem Child

A/N: I am absolutely hooked on the popular web series, 'Red vs Blue'. I would have to say it's the best thing in the world since homemade pancakes. I've seen fanfics for it before, and I must say that the majority of them are rather uninteresting (either that, or yet another dreaded slash fic). So, obviously, I took matters into my own hands and started my own. The basic gist of it is that it's the extensive background of one of the only RvB characters with any sort of notable past: Tex. I suppose that's it, so feel free to leave comments, and enjoy!

Also I would like to point out, this is not a comedy, and this is not in the Halo universe. I like to think that RvB is based within its own universe.

(Side Note: Yes, I'm re-posting this chapter. After leaving it for a while and just now coming back, the chapters I had already written seemed a bit wanting. Hopefully you'll all like the changes I made as much as I do.)

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Disclaimer: I do not own 'Red vs Blue' or anything having to do with it, but I friggin' wish I did.

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Chapter 1: Problem Child

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The sun was nearly five minutes from setting on the scene of the _'Open Arms'_ - Maximum Security Orphanage. The pavement was slowly growing colder and darker as all of the scattered orphans outside were called in.

"No stragglers!" a woman of sixty screamed from the doorway, "We won't want to have a repeat of last night, now do we?"

One of the children didn't budge an inch - a small girl with dirty blonde hair done up in a ponytail, no older than seven, sitting in one of the corners of the brick wall which surrounded the facility.

"Alice!" the woman screamed. The girl didn't respond. She screamed louder, "ALICE!"

The girl still sat there lost in thought, staring up at the sun setting as it slowly turned the Texas sky a mellow orange. Once all of the other children were inside, the woman marched over to the girl and stood over her. Her hair, done up in a bun, was grey and fried from the sun, and the skin on her face dragged down into folds, like a dog's face would. Her body was a skinny marvel, grossly disproportionate to her head.

"Alice! Who the sam-hill do you think you are? For the last time, when I talk, you listen!"

"...not Alice." the girl muttered.

"What's that?"

The girl's eyes were focused on her now. "My name isn't Alice. It's Allison."

The old woman aimed her jagged, boney finger at the door, which the last of the other children just passed through. "I couldn't care less what your name is! Now get inside!"

"Yes, Mrs. Crouchet..." Allison picked herself up and limped inside, the woman following close behind. "

Don't go thinking you'll be able to try again what you tried last night." Crouchet said, "No child leaves the Open Arms until it's been adopted."

The previous night came back to the girl's thoughts. She had attempted to escape the facility while everyone else was asleep. It would have worked, too - if she hadn't gotten her leg caught in the barbed wire when she tried to scale the wall.

She stared down at her leg - wrapped in an old rag, turned brown by the blood that was spilled on it. _'It's not like anyone is going to take me anyway' _she thought to herself.

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Mrs. Crouchet, the Open Arms' "President", as she would call herself, was a flat-out uncaring old woman. All that was important to her was that she was in charge, and that each and every child was following her every order. The children both feared her and despised her, living under her crumbling iron fist. The other heads of the facility had heard of her ways, but never bothered to stop her, or even talk to her about it. Perhaps they needed the money. Or perhaps they feared her just as much as the orphans did. The children could swear that late at night, they could hear her cackling laughter coming from her office.

When Allison entered the facility, Mrs. Crouchet pulled her away to her office by her hair, to give her yet another lecture on proper conduct whilst she's under her "care". Basically, this entailed her repeating, for the umpteenth time, her "3 Main Rules" from the flimsy piece of cardboard hanging from the wall:

_The 3 Main Rules:_

_1. Do not do things that can lessen your chances of being adopted._

_2. Do not make trouble for Mrs. Crouchet._

_3. Do not try to escape._

It was this piece of cardboard that the old lady would point to whenever she wanted to give an orphan "a good talking to", as she would sometimes call it. Even when every child was behaving perfectly, she just seemed to pick one out at random and take them into her office, she would preach about her rules, how "_rules are sacred_", and various other garbage like that.

"Do I make myself clear, Alice?" Mrs. Crouchet said, staring down at Allison, who was now sitting in the corner, grasping her injured leg.

Allison stared back at her with emotionless eyes. "Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now get out of my office."

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That night, Allison didn't get all that much to eat. The facility's food supplies had been running low this week, and weren't going to be restocked for another couple of days. All she was given was stale piece of bread and a slice of cheese. The pain in her stomach was minimal compared to the pain in her leg, so she tried her best to ignore it.

The Open Arms Orphanage itself wasn't always the horrible place it was. Placed in just about the middle of nowhere, the poor choice of location was the founder of Open Arms' first mistake. Putting Crouchet before he died was his second. Normally, the government would send food and supplies to places such as the orphanage, as that was the custom at the time. Due to the recent war between the Red and Blue armies though, all supplies that would go to the Open Arms was now sent to aid the Blue forces in their fight. Luckily for the orphans, there were fund-raising support groups who took pity upon them and sent food to them on a regular basis. Recently though, supplies had started to become scarce, and had to be rationed amongst the children. They were all still too young to understand exactly what was going on, but Allison knew.

It was nearing lights-out, and all of the children were crowded around an old television that Mrs. Crouchet had found. Allison had managed to squeeze herself into a spot between a few kids and caught view of the screen. It was a news report, talking about the war between the Red and Blue armies. _"The Blue Army has suffered a new loss today."_ the female reporter stated_, "Over half of Planet Sidewinder has been taken by the Red Army now, with their most recent victory over the Blues."_ All of the children began to boo and scream at this news. Texas was currently Blue territory at the time, and any news of the war was taken rather seriously.

Allison ignored the screams of her fellow orphans, lost in thought again. She was thinking about her mother now. She didn't know much about her, except the reason she left her where she was. The day she was brought to Open Arms, her mother left a note for her to read once she was able to:

_Dear Allison,_

_I am sure that by the time you read this, you understand where you are and why you are there. I just want you to know that I'm sorry. You see, I was enlisted in the Blue Army when I had you. Let's just say your birth was not exactly planned. Please believe me, if it were up to me I would have left the army to raise you myself. There was nothing I wanted to do more than that, but I suppose I couldn't bring myself to so quickly betray what I believed in. I won't ask you to forgive me, but know this: Even though we have never truly met, I can tell that you are going to grow up to be very special, and I love you very much. Don't ever let anyone tell you what you can't do. I'll never forget you._

_Love,_

_Samantha Beth_

_'Love'_ - That word kept repeating in her head. If she really loved her, how could she leave her there? It didn't make any sense to her.

The war footage on the television intrigued her. All of those people working together for the same cause, battleships flying through the air, soldiers in protective armor running everywhere; it was like nothing else she had ever seen. Not to mention her mother joined up with the army as well. She couldn't help but think about it since she first read that letter. Was there really something so deep to being in the army that had the power to make a mother abandon her own daughter?

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Her dreams that night were not entirely surprising. She had finally climbed the outer walls and escaped the orphanage. Originally, she didn't even really know what she would do once she got away. Now she knew. Her mind was fixated now. She would join the army, and perhaps even find some answers about her mother.

Another night, she would dream she was on a wide battlefield in the raining darkness. There would be flashes of bombs everywhere and bullets taking out stray soldiers, both red and blue - it was a massacre. She was wearing the blue forces' armor as well. When she looked to see who was firing the weapons, she saw old Mrs. Crouchet. "No stragglers!" she screamed. Soldiers were falling left and right, and when she tried to help them she fell to the ground as well. She tried to pick herself up but couldn't - her injured leg was gone, possibly amputated.

"Here!" A female voice called out from behind her. When she turned herself around, she saw a woman clad in blue armor reaching out to her. Allison could just barely make out a face from beneath the woman's visor. She grabbed her hand and was pulled back up to her feet. "You're injured!" the woman screamed out of her helmet, trying to beat the noise of the explosions, "I'm going to get you out of here! Let's go!" Allison complied and grabbed onto the soldier's hand.

They had only gone so far, when a nearby explosion threw Allison off balance and she fell to the ground again.

The soldier was about to help her up when a voice called out to her. "Samantha! We need your help over here!" Allison couldn't believe her eyes. Was this really her mother in front of her? She wanted to say something, but nothing came from her mouth. The soldier looked back and forth between the soldiers in need and Allison. "Wait here!" she shouted, "I'll come back for you!"

Once she ran off, Allison finally managed to yell out, "Wait!" Another nearby explosion made the ground shake, and then suddenly break apart. The last explosion had caused a landslide. Allison fell for what felt like forever, and finally hit the ground with a powerful thud. She was face down in a pool of rainwater and blood. When she managed to push herself up and wipe the mud from her visor, she saw her reflection - her armor was damaged badly. A crack ran up her visor, and some translucent red water had seeped in. Dirt was pushing her down, and more was piling on. She tried her best to pull herself out, but the weight of the upturned earth and was too great for her. Her face was soon pushed down into the bloody water, and her helmet started to fill. The water quickly covered her mouth and nose, and she could not breathe. Whatever happened now, she could not be helped.

Just as soon as her dream self lost consciousness, Allison woke up, breathing deeply as though she was actually drowning in reality. Once she caught her breath, she looked at the clock above the door - only three in the morning. She was afraid to go back to sleep, in fear of having that dream again. She thought back to that soldier, the woman who had tried to save her. She had never actually met her mother, so she could never truly know if it was her, but she couldn't help but think if that voice had actually belonged to her.

Allison's nightmares came and went, but her dreams did not stray from the army. She was endlessly intrigued by the entire concept of it, and despite her nightmares, she still wondered about joining it herself.

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After another year in that orphanage, Allison had grown moodier, more resentful of those around her. Her constant thinking about joining the army had turned her into somewhat of a tomboy, getting into fights with other orphans and stealing extra rations from them whenever food was low. She never really cared about the others anyway. She saw them as just a bunch of jabbering fools. Granted, they were only children, but she had to look out for herself.

Allison's actions had eventually earned her the nickname "Ruffian". It didn't take long for the name to stick, either. Once adopting parents caught word of her nickname, they would immediately lose all interest in her and adopt another child. Parents would sometimes even hear of her before they even set foot in the orphanage, and make their decision about her right away. It seemed like orphans came and went from that place nearly every day, but Allison's new name and reputation stuck to her like superglue.

One Saturday in July, another adoption day had come. Allison had gotten used to these. No parents were ever interested in taking her with them, but she didn't know why. Eventually, she just didn't care. She would have to be let go once she got old enough, so what difference did it make? She would just sit in the corner on a rickety old chair, while she let all of the other kids be adopted. This Saturday was different though. A young couple in their early thirties spotted her in the corner and asked Mrs. Crouchet about her.

"Excuse me?" the wife said, trying to get her attention.

"Hmm?" The old lady was startled and turned to her. "What can I do for ya?"

"What about that little girl over there?" She pointed to Allison.

"Oh, you don't want that one." she said, grinning, "She's a bit of a problem child."

Allison snapped at this remark. "You're no prize yourself, old lady!"

The old woman glared at Allison when she said that. "Why you little-" "Wait." She was cut off by the young wife. She stared sympathetically at Allison and then whispered to her husband.

The wife seemed nice enough. She had light brown hair down to her shoulders and a few scattered freckles on her cheeks. Her green eyes seemed a bit overly sympathetic towards her, but it didn't bother her too much. The husband seemed a little uneasy. He didn't look like he was from around here - more like a city person. He had slightly darker hair than his wife's, and his eyes were a shallow brown. Not the most content looking man she has ever seen, but he seemed alright to her.

"What do you think...?"

The husband looked hesitant. "I don't know. Are you sure? She seems a little... odd."

"This child is clearly troubled. If she stayed here any longer, who knows how much worse she could get?"

Allison had the urge to say _'You know, I can hear you.'_ but this may have been the only chance she may get to leave this place, so she kept quiet. She had started to get anxious now. Was this woman honestly considering adopting her - the scruffy girl in the corner?

After some convincing, the husband gave in. "Well, if you're sure about this, then I'm all for it."

The woman looked at Allison again and said, "Little girl, how would you like to come home with us?"

Allison was stunned. Someone actually wanted her. It was a feeling like she hadn't ever felt before. She searched for the words, but it seemed they were in shock as well. "What? Uh, well... Sssure...!" She could actually feel a smile form on her face for the first time in a while.

"What's your name, hun?"

"A-allison. Allison Beth…"

The wife smiled. "Well, Allison Beth, looks like you just got yourself a home."

Allison couldn't contain herself. She just ran over and hugged this woman who she barely knew just for being told she was leaving this deathtrap.

The wife laughed and hugged her back at this gesture. "Well now!" she said, "Your mood certainly has changed, hasn't it?"

Mrs. Crouchet brought the two into her office to sign some paperwork, and Allison was left in the main room by herself. She took one last look around the horrid place before she would never have to see it again. It felt almost too good to be true, but it was true! She was finally being adopted, and she would never have to step foot in this place again.

Soon, the couple and Crouchet walked back out and Allison was greeted again. "It's official!" the wife declared, "You are officially with us now!"

Allison was astonished by the sheer speed which this was all happening. She looked up at this woman who was smiling down at her, confused on just what to say next. "So…" she managed to let out, "… I just go _with_ you now?"

The woman just kept on smiling. "That's right." After the minute it took for Allison's mind to comprehend what she was saying, the three started for the exit.

Just as they got out the door, Allison stopped. "Wait!" she said, I forgot something. Wait here" and ran back inside. She dashed past Mrs. Crouchet and into the bedroom. She walked up to her bed, the one she had slept in all these years, and reached under the mattress to pull out her mother's letter to her.

When she walked back out to the main room, Mrs. Crouchet stopped her. "Alice" she said with a smile, "I want you to know how happy for you I am that you've finally been taken in by a caring family." The uncaring, forced quality of her smile was so unbelievably false, that Allison couldn't help but return the same smug smile.

"Y'know, Mrs. Crouchet," Allison said, "there's been something I've wanted to tell you for a long time now."

"And what's that, dear?"

Allison then delivered a swift kick to the old woman's shin, leaving her holding her leg and swearing when she casually walked out and closed the door behind her.

On their way out, Allison couldn't feel happier. Finally, she could say goodbye to this part of her life. Just as they were about to pass through the entrance arches of the facility, which read "Open Arms", she stopped. "Wait..."

"What is it?" the wife said, "Forget something else?"

She looked at the two regretfully. "I don't even know your names."

She laughed. "Oh, how rude of us! My name is Jenna, and this is Marcus."

Allison smiled, her cheeks glowing from her embarrassment. "It's... very nice to meet you both."

Jenna smiled back at her. "Likewise"

Marcus looked at Allison wearily. He didn't seem all too thrilled to have her along. At least living with Jenna would be nice. She hoped it would, anyway.

The other orphans still in the facility called out to her as she walked away. "Goodbye, Ruffian!" They all cheered and laughed as she got further away.

Jenna arched an eyebrow and looked down at her newly adopted daughter. "Ruffian? What's that all about?"

Allison only shrugged. "I dunno."

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	2. On the Right Path

I would like to point out at this time, that even though I (slightly) edited/added to these two chapters, I still feel my writing can be better. No, that doesn't mean I'll be re-posting these chapters again (unless it's a WHILE from now). I promise though, it will get better as I continue writing.

Also, I notice that I received a comment or two that it needs to be funny. Again, even though RvB is hilarious, this is not a comedy fanfic. I might try to squeeze in a "heh" moment or two once in a while, but again, this is not a comedy. I can't stress that enough.

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Disclaimer: Again, I do not own the rights to Red vs Blue or anything from it. Wait… Does merchandise count? No, I suppose it wouldn't.

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Chapter 2: On the Right Path

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"MY room...?" Allison asked, looking around an empty room. There was a bed in the corner, and a night table with a lamp standing on it. Nothing more. Moonlight shone in through the shades on the window.

"That's right" Jenna said, smiling at her. "It's all yours."

The house was beautiful. At least to Allison it was; a handmade single level cottage about ten miles down the road from town. It wasn't very big, or fancy, but it was exactly to Allison's liking.

Suddenly Allison's expression changed, from one of excitement and cheer to one of guilt.

Jenna looked at her, confused. "Is something wrong?"

"I..." she looked down a the floor. "I don't deserve this..."

"Nonsense" Jenna replied. "You've put up with more than any child your age should have to. You had to spend most of your childhood in an orphanage."

Allison walked over to the bed and sat down. "It just doesn't... feel right."

"I would only suppose it wouldn't." Jenna responded. "It'll take some getting used to." Suddenly she noticed the scar on her leg. "Where did that come from...?"

Allison looked out the window at the full moon, partially hidden by clouds. "It's nothing. I just hurt myself."

Jenna knew something had happened. She didn't force anything though. Instead, she just sat on the bed next to her. "Tell me, what do you know about your parents?"

Her eyes didn't stray from the window. "Nothing. Only that my mother was in the army."

"I see. And, how does that make you feel?"

"That she would rather fight in some war than raise her own daughter? Horrible."

"I'm sure she had her reasons..."

The level of Allison's voice rose. "No! She didn't have a reason! She just abandoned me!"

"Allison..." Jenna had been trying to comfort her, but was losing her grasp.

Allison turned away from the window and towards her. Tears were streaming down her face. "Why would someone do that!"

"Allison, sometimes there's just no telling exactly why people do the things they do. You need to understand that." Suddenly, she realized who she was talking to was only a child. She put an arm around her and pulled her close. Allison quickly put her arms around Jenna and began to cry her heart out. Jenna rubbed her back and tried to calm her down.

A couple of minutes later, she regained her composure. She looked Jenna in the face. "I'm sorry..."

"For what?"

"For making you have to see that."

"You don't need to apologize to me, Allison. You've obviously been through a lot maybe you should get some rest."

"Maybe."

"If it's alright with you, I would like to talk to you about this tomorrow. Would that be alright?"

Allison nodded.

"Okay." Jenna got up and walked to the doorway, looking back at her. "Are you going to be alright?"

She nodded again.

"Goodnight, Allison." She left the door slightly ajar, just in case she was the type who needed a little light.

"Goodnight..." Allison muttered, as she curled up on the bed.

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The next morning, Allison woke up to the sound of birds singing outside her window. She got out of bed, wearily made her way across the room and looked out her door. All was silent. She walked down the hall and into the kitchen where she caught the attention of Marcus. He was reading the newspaper silently and now the two were stating at each other, both waiting for the other one to break the awkward silence.

"Uhhh... Hi." Marcus said. He didn't seem to know what else to say.

"Hello..."

"Did you, sleep okay?"

"Mm-hmm. Thank you for asking." She wasn't accustomed to being so polite to people. It was a little odd. "Where's Jenna...?"

"Oh, she went to town to get some food. You hungry?"

"A little bit, yes." She was lying. For some reason she didn't have much of an appetite this morning.

"Well don't worry. She should be back any minute now." He forced a fake smile. It was obvious he was still getting used to the idea of taking her in.

"I, uhh..." She tried to think of something to say. "I really... appreciate you... y'know... adopting me and all..."

Marcus just looked at her sternly and said, "Don't mention it." without a hint of emotion on his face. Allison began to worry about him on this note.

Suddenly the front door opened. It was Jenna, lugging heavy plastic bags with her.

"Oh hello, you two." She said, smiling.

Allison lit up at seeing her face.

"Well hello there, sleepy-head." Jenna said, grinning down at her, "How are you doing this morning?"

"Fine." she said, returning her smile.

"Are you hungry?"

"Mm-hmm!"

"Well, I'll make you some lunch then, hmm?"

"Lunch? What time is it?" Allison had lost all track of time after she was taken from the orphanage.

Jenna looked at her watch. "Oh, about 1:30. You're quite the heavy sleeper, aren't you?"

"Wow, I guess I am!"

Marcus went back to reading his newspaper.

"And how are you, dear?" Jenna said to Marcus.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm doing great. You?" His eyes never left the newspaper.

Jenna's expression seemed to change slightly. She was still smiling, but she looked different now; almost like she was forcing herself. "I'm... great."

Something seemed wrong about Marcus. Allison couldn't quite place a finger on it, but there was just something odd about him.

Jenna had lunch whipped up for all three of them in a matter of minutes. She made a sort of salad, with tiny chunks of chicken and blue cheese in it. Once Allison got a taste of it, she practically inhaled the rest. It was like nothing else she had ever tasted while she was an orphan.

"Allison," Jenna grabbed her attention, "what do you say we go into town and buy you some new clothes, hmm?"

Allison choked on the words. She nearly went into shock. "C-Clothes? For me?"

"Well sure" Jenna responded, "I mean, all you came here with is what you have on, right? C'mon, it'll be fun!"

"Well... I guess. Alright, let's go!"

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Within two months, Allison had become a lot more accustomed to living with Jenna. The two had gotten much closer over this time, and had started to think of each other as family. Allison had started going to school as well. She didn't make any friends, but that didn't bother her. Kids were still far beneath her, she believed. Eventually, over this time, Allison finally discovered what it was about Marcus that seemed so off; he was a very uncaring person. He didn't pay much attention to her or his own wife. He would go to a bar in town and come home drunk. He didn't even have his own job - it was Jenna who worked during the day. She had worked as a psychologist during the day, while Allison was at school. Allison finally figured it out, why Jenna wanted to adopt a child: She needed the company. She didn't care about the reason though. All that mattered was that she had Jenna, and Jenna had her.

One day though, Jenna came home to find Allison lying down on her bed, facing the wall.

"Well?" Jenna said, "Do you want to tell me what happened at school today?"

"The school called you." Allison pouted, "You know what happened."

"I want an explanation."

"He should have let off."

"Allison, this is the second fight you've gotten into since you started school last month."

She still didn't turn to look at her. "He was just an idiot."

"What he was, Allison, was being a little kid. That's what little kids do, is act like that."

"I asked him nicely to stop, like you said. He should have known better."

"Maybe so, but that doesn't give you permission to do what you did to him."

"He'll be fine. Nothing was broken." Allison didn't know that for certain. It's not every day a child has their arm twisted around their back and through their legs

"That doesn't mean you didn't do anything wrong, Allison. You know that."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm afraid you're grounded, little lady." Jenna said sternly.

Allison sat up and faced her at this comment. "What?"

"For the next week, every day, you are to come straight home after school. No more casually strolling down dirt paths, taking your time here, understand?"

The look on Allison's face seemed to change at least three times within only a second. She was angry for being punished, which quickly changed into guilt about what she did, and just as fast came emotionless acceptance. "Yes ma'am..." she murmured.

It was difficult for Allison to try and get over her way of doing things. She usually just looked out for herself and to hell with everyone else, but Jenna had been trying to teach her that you need to have a little caring and understanding in life. It wasn't a simple concept for her to adapt to, but eventually Jenna's lessons would sink in.

Suddenly, there was a pounding at the front door. Jenna turned around in surprise and then quickly back to Allison. "Wait here, okay? I'll see who that is."

A few seconds after Jenna left the room, Allison heard who was at the door: Marcus. He had been missing for the past couple of days. This had happened once before, after the last time Marcus had gone drinking. About a month ago, Marcus had gone missing and Jenna was beside herself with fear. "What if he's hurt?" she would keep asking herself, as well as other questions. When he finally came back, he was in a drunken rage over some unknown incident. He accused Jenna of being unfaithful, and beat her with his bare hands. Allison had actually seen this happen right in front of her. Jenna fell to the floor, bleeding from his strikes and sobbing uncontrollably. Before Marcus could throw another punch though, he fell down unconscious. He swore he would never drink again, after he later came to realize what he had done. Today would be no different from that event.

"Marcus!" Jenna screamed.

"Y-you!" Marcus replied, "You bid-ch! You been ad' it agin!" His words were far past slurred from the amount of drinking he had done.

"Marcus! You've been drinking again! Look at you!"

"Lookit' me! Lookit' you, you ssslut!"

Allison heard something break from inside.

"Marcus, stop!" Jenna's crying could be heard now, as well as a few rough strikes and her back hitting the wall.

Marcus grabbed her by the arm and threw her to the floor. "Now you'll learn not to go an' do that anymore!" He lifted his foot and was about to strike down on Jenna's back, was it not for a glass vase that suddenly struck him in the face and shattered on impact.

"Stop it!" Allison screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Marcus looked at her confusedly. The vase didn't seem to have affected him. "You shaddap, you," he said, pointing a shaking finger at Allison, "or you're neksht, hear?"

Suddenly, Marcus' eyes became dull, and he fell backwards into a recliner and fell asleep.

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A year later, Marcus seemed to finally drop his drinking habit, and things started to seem a lot better. The morning after the second incident, he woke up on the front porch. When he asked Jenna to let him inside, he was told about the things he had done the night before. Although he couldn't remember a single detail of it, he swore that he felt nothing but guilt about the whole incident. He promised her again that he would never drink again, but this time that if he ever did again, he would leave by his own will. Marcus still paid minimal attention to his wife, but stuck to his promise.

Within that year, Allison showed change as well. Through living with Jenna, she was able to learn about being a better person. She was still a bit of a tomboy, and her resentment of those her own age didn't change, but she learned how to control her actions more easily, and how to have a better understanding of people. She never forgot about her blood mother, and never stopped dreaming about one day finding her. At this point, Allison was more than content to call Jenna her "Mother".

One night, Jenna had her family visit from out of state for dinner. When Allison was introduced to them all, she saw them all as a very warm, friendly group. She wasn't far off, either. Upon meeting Allison, everyone praised her, going on and on about how cute she was and things of that nature. It wasn't exactly something she was comfortable with, but she endured. She wanted to make a good first impression on them all, in hopes of being easily accepted into their family. In an attempt to present herself as a sophisticate, and not a tomboy, she had even put on an uncomfortable sweater and skirt, in contrast to her usual ensemble of a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt, and had her hair out and well groomed. At one point during dinner, one of the family members brought attention to Allison's adoption. He was a wide, jolly looking man with a musty old toupee, whom everyone just seemed to refer to as 'Beebo'. Allison had suspected he was Jenna's father, but she could not see any physical resemblance.

"So tell me, Allison" Beebo said, calling himself to her attention by pointing an already half-eaten turkey leg at her, "What do you know about your parents?"

Everyone suddenly stopped eating, and the mood of the room was verging on awkward silence. They all knew the conversation had gone into uncomfortable territory. All, of course, except for Beebo.

Beebo still sat there, stuffing himself in between words, unaware of the fact that he was sticking his nose where it didn't belong.

"I mean," he said, "did they just leave you, or are they… y'know, no longer with us?"

Before he had the chance to say another word, Allison excused herself from the table and silently made for her room, creating a stir at the dinner table.

Jenna walked into Allison's room to find her sitting on her bed again, looking out the window. She had changed back into her usual pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and her new clothes were strewn into a pile in the corner. Jenna looked at her sympathetically and asked, "Are you alright? You left dinner in quite a rush."

"I'm fine." Allison said. It was an obvious lie, and she knew Jenna could see right through it.

"Was it something they said?"

"I..." She paused for a second. She didn't want to bring herself to say it. "I just can't talk about it. About her."

Jenna slowly walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. "You mean your mother."

She nodded.

Jenna put a hand gently on her back. "You're still having a hard time with this, aren't you...?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I couldn't expect you to ever entirely get over something like this."

"It's just..." Images of her mother leaving her at the orphanage ran through her head; the cliché case of a poor mother leaving her child in a wicker basket. She was well aware this wasn't how it happened though. She remembered being told she was found on the cold concrete in front of the facility.

"I mean, I can't help but feel betrayed by her somehow. I know she and I weren't even together long enough to know each other, but that's just how I feel."

"That's understandable."

"All I have is this letter she wrote. It doesn't mean anything to me, but I keep holding onto it. It doesn't make sense."

"You know, there's nothing wrong with keeping it."

Allison turned to face her. "I just wish I could forget about her." It was true; she wanted nothing more than to lose all memory of her mother, or what little she had. She would have liked nothing more than to tear up that letter and throw it away, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

"That isn't an option. You know that."

She looked down at the floor. "I know..."

"Don't worry. Everything will get better with time. You'll see."

Allison paused. "… Jenna?"

"Yes?"

"Why…" she was almost afraid to ask. "Why, of all the kids at the orphanage-" She stopped herself short.

Jenna caught on quickly. "Why did I pick you?" she asked, "Is that what you were going to ask?"

She gave a simple nod, embarrassed to ask any further.

"Well," Jenna said, "when I first saw you, I could tell just how special you were. Perhaps, I suppose, I saw a little bit of me in you – just looking for help." She gave a bright smile – one Allison could tell was honest. "And here we are." Allison couldn't help but smile back with the joy she was feeling.

"Plus," Jenna added, throwing her a clever grin, "did you see those other kids? Hideous!"

They both broke out into laughter at this comment. Clearly, the bad mood had been broken. Allison then grasped Jenna tightly in a hug, taking her slightly by surprise. Allison hardly ever showed her emotions that much, even after all this time with her. She returned the hug and said, "Now, what do you say, do you want to go back out there?"

Allison released her hold on her. "Do I have to put that back on?" she said, pointing at the clothes she was just wearing, slung over a chair in the corner.

"You know what?" Jenna asked with a grin, "I think it's time everyone met the real you. Here." She had grabbed a band from Allison's night table and tied her hair back into a ponytail.

The two quickly gave each other one more hug and both went back to dinner. As expected, the second they had sat down, Beebo was back to his questioning.

"Now where was I…? Oh yes!" the fat man exclaimed, "So do you remember anything _at all_ about your original parents?"

The rest of the family was dumbfounded by Beebo's inconsiderate actions. Suddenly, Allison burst out, "Shut up, Beebo!" her teeth clenched. One or two family members gave a gasp, and everyone's attention was on Allison.

The jolly man was suddenly not so jolly. Stunned, he looked around the room for someone to correct her behavior, but to no avail. Then someone yelled out as well, "Yeah, Beebo! Shut up!" Everyone's attention was now drawn to Jenna, giving a sly grin to the fat man. Needless to say, Beebo got the hint and kept his mouth shut for the remainder of dinner, not even to eat. When the commotion was over, and everyone else went back about their own conversations, Allison gave a smile to her mother for the assistance, and Jenna gave her a satisfied wink.

The very next day, almost everyone in Jenna's family called her – even a few of the ones who didn't show up to dinner. They didn't want to talk to Jenna though. They wanted Allison. Apparently they all wanted to commend Allison on being the first in the family to open her mouth and shut Beebo's. She couldn't help but notice that she was already being accepted as family. This was something that she had never felt before; people wanting to talk to her, wanting to thank her, and compliment her. Each one of them welcomed her warmly into the family now, and all it took was a simple outburst.

Once the seemingly endless wave of calls ended, Jenna complimented Allison as well.

"I'm really proud of you, you know."

"Because I yelled at Beebo?"

"No"

Allison arched an eyebrow. "No? Then why?"

Jenna gave a smile and told her, "Because you're my daughter."

With that simple sentence, without another word, Allison just seemed to collapse into Jenna's arms, and the two embraced each other.

The two truly cared for each other, completed each other, and they knew it. Without each other, they would have both been lost. Allison would be even more miserable than one could comprehend, and Jenna - she would not have lasted if it were not for Allison. They really were a family now, and for the first time, Allison truly felt like she belonged.

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	3. Breaking the Chain

GASP! Is it possible? SoS has posted another chapter, after all this time?

Yep, it's true. Sorry for my HORRENDOUS delay between chapters. My mind wandered off again. Don't worry though: I caught it again, and re-bolted the door on its cage. Hopefully the little rascal won't get out again any time soon.

Also, thanks to all of the people who have commented so far. I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts and opinions, as well as comments from all of you new people who have only just found this story.

With that said, go on and read already! You'd rather sit there and listen to me ramble on?

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Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Red vs Blue, and I don't claim to. If I did, the crew would probably kick my ass. Sure, I could totally take some of them, like Gus and Jason, but Geoff and Kathleen would massacre me, big time.

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Chapter 3: Breaking the Chain

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"Later, Marcus", a now eighteen year-old Allison said casually, quickly passing him by, "I'm gonna be out for a while. Don't expect me back anytime soon."

Her hand was on the doorknob just as Marcus called out from behind her. "Hold it!" he shouted. This was rather unexpected, as Marcus was usually found out cold on the couch at this hour. She didn't bother to turn and face him, but his groaning noises were enough to know he was getting up off the couch.

"Where do you think you're going, girl?" Marcus said, the tone in his voice changing every couple of words.

Allison still didn't turn to face him. "I'm going out with Leon for a little while" she said, "That's all."

"That's all." Marcus said, mocking her. "You're not going anywhere, you got that?" When she didn't respond, he shook her arm and repeated, "You got that?"

Again, no answer.

Marcus' eyebrows almost seemed to cave in with aggravation. "You look at me when I'm talking to you!" he demanded, and took hold of her arm. He then roughly yanked at it, turning her around to look her in the eye.

Allison's appearance had changed drastically since she had been a child. She was around five-foot-seven now, and her hair, now far past her shoulders, had numerous black streaks dyed into it. Her brown eyes had grown somewhat colder now, glaring back at her step-father.

Marcus gave her a fierce look for her impudence, shaking her arm again. "What the hell do you think you're doing, going out looking like that?" he said, looking her up and down once. Allison was wearing a tight black leather jacket, knee-high boots, and a pair of tattered blue jeans.

"There's nothing wrong with the way I look." Allison retorted.

"You look like a whore!" Marcus exclaimed, shaking her once again, harder now. "Not to mention every time I let you out of this house you do something I have to hear about later."

"First off, I don't need _you_ to _let_ me do anything. Secondly, who the hell are you kidding, telling me how to look?" She had a good point. Marcus hadn't exactly been taking care of himself in recent years. He was normally dressed in his old sweat clothes, and hardly even changed out of them. He never even left the house anymore. He would just stay home all day in front of the television, while Allison had to get two jobs just to keep food on the table.

"Third, I work all day while _somebody _doesn't, so I'm entitled to some sort of life." She paused for a second, trying to think of something else to say. "And fourth… I'm leaving."

When she turned and had her hand on the doorknob again, Marcus interrupted. "Right. A life, she says. All you do is go out, cheat and steal from this Leon guy, and then go and get a new hole in your head or something!"

"I told you," she said, "they're my ears, and I can do whatever I want to them." She had three holes in each ear by this point. She hadn't planned to get anymore than that, but there was no use in trying to explain that to Marcus when he was in one of his moods and butting into her business.

"Oh?" Marcus asked, "And what about that on your back that you were so happily showing off last summer? Care to explain _that_?"

Allison had gotten a tattoo as well in her acts of rebellion; a large black outline of a star was now forever etched upon her back.

"It's only a star, asshole!" she shouted, losing her patience, "It's no big deal!"

Marcus let out a sigh of surrender. "Y'know what? Whatever. Do whatever you damn well want." he exclaimed, "I just don't care anymore."

"Right", Allison said sarcastically, "Because, y'know, you _really_ cared before."

Marcus plopped right back down on the couch and let out a smug chuckle. "That's right, girl. Just laugh it up. Eventually you'll just end up like Jenna."

With those cruel words, Allison's mind was sent back a few years, to when Jenna was still around. Everything was as it should be back then. Allison was only fifteen at the time, and she was well on her way to becoming the respectable young woman Jenna had raised.

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Jenna's soft voice still rang in her ears from that day.

"So, he just straight forward asked you out?"

"Well, yeah." Allison replied awkwardly, "Something like that."

The two were sitting on the bed in Allison's room, Jenna sitting behind her, straightening her hair. The sun had just only begun to come down as the sunset shone through the blinds. Jenna paused for a moment. "His name was… Leonard, was it?"

"Leon, mom." she corrected her, "His name is Leon."

"_Oh, my mistake_." Jenna said jokingly, trying to calm her down.

"You know, it's really weird. He's such a cornball, but I can't help by feel nervous about all this."

"Hey, it's your first date. If it doesn't work out, and he's really the cornball you claim he is, well, then just tell him you went out with him out of sympathy." She let out a laugh and continued fixing her hair.

This joke had taken Allison by surprise. "Now that doesn't sound like a very 'mom' thing to say."

Jenna nodded. "Well, I know you would yell at me if I said an actual _'mom' thing_." She gave a smirk. "You know, like _'Maybe you're in love'_, in a disgustingly happy tone."

She couldn't help but laugh as well. "Yeah, I probably _would_ yell at you."

When Jenna finally finished straightening her hair, she tightly tied it up at the top to make a ponytail. "Honestly," she groaned, "I don't know how you manage to get your hair in such condition sometimes."

Allison turned to face her now that her hair was finished. "I told you. The wind is really strong outside sometimes."

Her mother arched an eyebrow. "But what about all of the dirt that gets in it?"

She tried to find a reason, but all she could think up was, "Hello? Outside? With dirt roads all around us?"

"I'm curious, Allison. What exactly _do_ you do when you go outside?"

She didn't have any real answer to this. She sometimes found herself asking herself that exact same question. Most of the time she would just wander out into the open, watching the sunset, or just wander the seemingly endless maze of dirt paths. There was no real reason.

Jenna shook her head, refusing to try and pry into her life. "Hey," she said, "Marcus shouldn't be back until tomorrow. What do you say we go out for dinner tonight?"

Allison's face lit up. "Really? Just you and me?" The two hardly had a chance to be together at the time, what with Jenna's job, Allison having to go to school, and the various events that are normally expected to pop up in life. Luckily, the two finally had time off from work and school to enjoy each other's company.

"That's right" her mother said with a nod. "Just you and me."

"Where do you want to go?"

"We'll decide on the way. Come on, let's go!" And without another word, the two jumped up and raced each other out of the house; a normal practice for them. Just as Jenna had reached the door, she had to stop to lock it. Allison used this opportunity to leap straight out the door, passed Jenna, over the deck, and right onto the ground.

Jenna froze at this sight. "That was one hell of a jump!" she exclaimed, stunned.

Allison only grinned. "I win."

"What?" Her mother gave a playful pout. "No fair! I had to lock the door!"

"Details, details" she said triumphantly, as she slowly made her way for the car. The car was an interesting deal – An old low-rider that the two had found abandoned outside two years earlier. It was built back around the beginning of the 2000's. A relic at best. Whenever Marcus was out of town with the car they were in need of a way to get around anyway, so they had it fixed up with all of the modern needs for vehicles. All of the legally required needs, anyway. All in all though, it wasn't really that bad.

The two took off directly towards town, the radio blasting some strange new-age techno music. Oddly enough, neither of them liked that style of music, but each one thought the other did so they would continue listening, believing they were making the other happy. That, in the end, is what they both were satisfied with.

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The sun had just set entirely, and the sky was now a dark shade of navy blue. Jenna turned the headlights on just as they were about to drive onto a main road.

"So where do you want to go?" Jenna asked.

Allison laughed. "I'm good with the first place we see. I'm starving!"

Her mother agreed in such a tone that even _sounded_ hungry. "Sounds good to me."

Allison paused for a moment and gave a look of confusion. "Do you see that?" She said.

"I don't see anything." Jenna replied, straining her eyes to see what she was referring to.

She pointed far down the road in front of them into the darkness. "Over there. That big thing down there."

"I still don't see anythi-"

Suddenly, two large, blinding lights flashed on, temporarily impairing both of their eyesight. Upon regaining their sight, they saw that a car was quickly coming at them. Without a single moment to react, the two cars collided. Allison lost consciousness on impact. There wasn't even a chance to scream.

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When Allison first woke up again, she couldn't move. She didn't have any feeling in her entire body. Her eyes were closed and could not open. Her mind was all there, but she had no idea where she was or what had happened to her and Jenna. She was stuck in darkness, unable to see, hear or move. She had begun to wonder: Had she died? Was this what death was like; an empty void, filled with nothing but darkness? Was her body even with her any longer? Where was Jenna? These thoughts went on in her head for what felt like an eternity.

Gradually, Allison's senses began to come back, starting with her hearing. She could hear was the sound of people talking. Although at first she couldn't understand what anyone was saying, they all sounded very serious. All the while, there was a low frequency beeping in the background. Constantly, that beep went on at a steady pace. Allison struggled to regain the rest of her senses. She felt a sharp pain in her head as she struggled to make her body move. _'Come on…'_ she thought, _'Please move…'_

Allison's eyes had finally opened in one forced movement. Her head, however, like the rest of her body, still could not move. Her eyes looked straight up at a white-tiled ceiling. She was able to move her eyes around, but only to the point that she could see the tops of two people's heads. The words these people around her were saying were steadily becoming comprehendible.

"Status?" a masculine voice asked.

A woman responded to him. "She should make a full recovery." There was silence for a good ten seconds or so until the woman spoke again. "She was lucky."

"This was the easy part" the man quickly responded, "The hardest part is still to come."

All of a sudden, Allison made a slight groaning noise, drawing the attention of the two. This noise was not by will. It was as if her body was speaking for her, at the pain which she was slowly beginning to feel. She made the noise again, louder now.

The man who was talking walked closer, bringing himself into Allison's line of sight. He was a short, balding man, wearing a thick pair of glasses, and a large white coat. It was fairly obvious who the man was now. Allison knew were she was. That beeping in the background was nothing other than the sound of her own pulse. "Don't try to move" he said, "Just try your best to relax."

The doctor's words meant nothing to her as the pain she was feeling began to grow more and more until the woman nearby, who must have been a nurse, injected something into her arm. Soon, the pain began to die down, and the dead feeling in Allison's body began to return. Being able to think clearly again, she couldn't help but wonder where Jenna was. She was clearly in a hospital after their apparent car crash, so Jenna must have been there with her.

The two doctors had just walked out of her line of sight when she had attempted to speak. She made a "Wh-… Whe-…" sound, which was muffled by what seemed to be some sort of cloth over her mouth. Her jaw had trouble moving when she tried to talk. She must have been hurt far worse than she had imagined.

The nurse had heard her and returned to her side. "Oh. No, dear" she said in a sweet, calming tone, "You can't be talking right now. You've seriously injured yourself and need to stay as still as possible in order to heal correctly.

Allison didn't care. She needed to know if her mother was alright. "W-wher…" she said, struggling to speak, "Wher ich che…?"

"Where is who?" the nurse replied.

Allison could hardly move her jaw at all, between her injuries and being constricted by bandages. "My… mother…"

The look on the nurse's face instantly changed. She had opened her mouth numerous times to try and say something, but no words came out. "We…" she said, "Well… You see…" She was clearly nervous. Allison's heart quickly sank deep into her chest as she saw her reaction to her question. It couldn't be true. She refused to believe it.

The nurse suddenly stopped and took a deep breath. When she had regained her composure, she looked at Allison with emotionless eyes. "I'm sorry, dear…" she said, "We couldn't save her."

Surprisingly, no tears came. No crying, no screaming, anything. All Allison could do was lay there in that hospital bed, trying to comprehend what this strange woman had just said to her. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to jump out of this bed and strangle the nurse that stood over her for not being able to save her mother's life, but nothing. Only silence.

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During her recovery, numerous people had come to visit her. Assorted relatives of Jenna's, Leon, and even a couple of witnesses at the scene of the crash came to see how she was and wish her well. As much as she enjoyed these visits though, something was strange; whenever she would ask about the night of the crash, each one of them would avoid the subject.

There was one visitor, however, who Allison didn't know. It was during one of the more crucial stages of her recovery, when she still had to remain motionless in bed in order to heal properly. One afternoon, after one of her physical therapy sessions, a young boy was rolled into her room on a hospital bed. He was unconscious, and his head was considerably bandaged.

No one came in with the boy. The paramedics just wheeled him in and walked out. Allison just stared at him as he lied there silently, hardly moving whatsoever. She couldn't help but wonder where he had come from. He had pale skin, and tiny sprigs of blonde hair stuck out from underneath his bandages. Why would this kid be carted in here on his own? Why was only his head bandaged? For a moment, Allison actually felt like he and she were one and the same; left in a strange hospital, with no one by their side.

Suddenly, the boy's eyes opened, revealing their vibrant blue color. After a few short seconds, his eyes widened in shock and he quickly sat up.

"Wha-? W-where am I?" he asked himself out loud, his eyes darting around in a growing panic. The more he looked around in confusion, the faster and louder his breathing became.

Allison could already tell that if he kept this up he would end up having a panic attack. "Calm down. You're not in any danger." she called out to him from across the room.

The boy turned to Allison in surprise, but in seeing her relaxed expression he calmed down a little, and his breathing slowly began to return to normal. "Who are you…? What is this place…?" he asked meekly.

"A hospital." Allison responded, and pointed at the boy's forehead. "By the looks of it you got hit pretty hard on the head there…"

"Wha-?" the boy asked, and gently put a hand to his forehead. He immediately cringed with pain and pulled his hand away. "I guess Pa was right. I'm really _not_ ready to use the heavy machinery…"

Allison arched an eyebrow. "_'Heavy machinery'_? Where are you from, kid?"

"Iowa." the boy said.

Allison waited for him to keep talking, but apparently she wasn't very clear on her question. "Where, in Iowa, would a little kid like you be using _'heavy machinery'_?"

"Oh, it's on our farm. Pa kept telling me I was too small to help him with the big stuff, but I just wanted to make him proud. Now he's only going to hate me more…" He cringed again, but not from pain. He curled himself up into a little ball, hiding his eyes behind his knees.

"Hate you…?" Allison asked. He nodded, and remained curled up in his ball. The boy's apparent misery had piqued her interest. He began to whimper quietly to himself, and Allison became somewhat concerned. Perhaps the two really _weren't_ all that different. "What reason could your father have to hate you?"

The boy sniffled a bit and then looked back up at her. "I can't do anything right." he said. "Every time I try to help my Pa I mess things up for him. I'm nothing but trouble. I don't think I'll ever make him proud of me…"

So all he wanted was his father's approval. Allison knew she had never once experienced this need before. Even when Marcus was _calm _she didn't care about pleasing him or making him proud. She didn't have a clue what to say to this child, now that she knew what his situation was. She would try anyway though, because she had to do whatever she could to stop the kid from cowering the way he was.

"Listen," she said, "you don't have to waste your life away trying to win your father's acceptance."

"I-I don't?" he asked, surprised.

She shook her head. "No, you don't. Spending time trying to get someone to like you is just a waste of time, because there are some people who just aren't capable of returning that kindness. Trust me, I know." She wasn't referring to herself, of course, but to Jenna, and her many years of trying to win back Marcus' cold heart.

The boy's eyes widened, intrigued by her advice. "So… it isn't me? It's my Pa?"

"If he can't accept his- um… how old are you?" she inquired, arching an eyebrow.

"Nine."

"If he can't accept his nine-year-old son," she continued, "then yes, it's probably him." It only made sense to her. What kind of self-respecting father didn't accept their own child? Marcus crossed her mind again, but then she reminded herself, '_self-respecting_ father'.

"You should just do what you want to do with your life. That's the only way you'll be happy."

The boy seemed relieved almost instantly. Could Allison's words have made him feel better already? As his expression changed from one of fear and depression, to one of being completely care-free, he started sniffling rather loudly, taking Allison of guard. Apparently he had to blow his nose, because he was attempting to reach a box of tissues at his bedside. He reached further and further, while trying to remain seated in his bed, groaning with the strain of reaching.

Allison stared at him with confusion and suggested, "Just wipe your nose on your sleeve. It's no big deal."

The boy glanced at her with a sort of shock. "What?" he asked. "That's disgusting!" Until that day, Allison had never once seen a child his age that had a problem with wiping his nose on his sleeve. After about a second, it was actually funny to watch his desperation to reach the tissues.

Out of sympathy though, she reached out and grabbed the box of tissues between them, and tossed it onto his lap.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

When she moved back into her original position, she groaned slightly from the pain in her back. She was warned not to do any unnecessary moving, and now she agreed.

Upon hearing Allison's sound of pain, after blowing his nose, he turned back to her. "So why are _you_ here?"

"Car crash", she responded simply.

"Wow!" the boy exclaimed, appearing almost impressed. "You sure are lucky to be in one piece right now!"

She only nodded. Was she lucky though? She had never thought about that before. What was she going to do now that Jenna was gone? She didn't even know where exactly this hospital was.

"Well," the boy continued, "I sure hope you get better soon. It must be no fun sitting around in bed all day."

Allison smiled. "Thanks. Y'know, you're okay, kid. What's your name?"

"My name's Franklin," he responded, returning her smile. "What's your name?"

After that day, Allison never heard from that Franklin. He was already gone by the time she had woken up, most likely taken back to Iowa by his father. She hoped for the best for that boy; and that he could finally get past his father's expectations. He was a nice kid, but he definitely didn't seem like the very brightest she had ever seen.

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It was a month or so before Allison could move normally again. It was hard for her to tell exactly just how much time had passed, but she knew it had been quite a bit. Recovery had been torture for her. The dead feeling throughout her entire body lasted for at least two weeks of her recovery, but even now her pain had not yet fully subsided.

The tears had still not come yet. She couldn't feel any emotions being 'bottled up', as a psychoanalyst sent to her once during her recovery had said. Of course, she felt remorse for Jenna, but she was just incapable of letting those emotions form. Emotions did come tough at one point during her stay, although not the ones she had expected.

The nurse who had been helping her along the way during her recovery came into her room, looking rather concerned.

"Allison," the nurse said, "there's someone here who wants to see you."

"Me?" Allison asked, surprised. She tried to think of who it could possibly be. Leon? A relative? "Who is it?"

"It's…" the nurse paused. "It's the person who's responsible for your accident."

"What?" Allison was taken aback by this news. What could this person possibly want? To apologize? To beg that her family didn't sue?

"Out of my way!" hollered a familiar voice from the hallway.

"_No…"_ was all Allison could think at that moment. She already knew who it was: Marcus. Suddenly the pieces began to come together.

Judging by the sounds from the hall, someone was putting up a fight, trying to keep him from coming in.

"I said, out of my way!" he screamed again.

When he finally entered the room, Allison had not expected to see what she had. Marcus was in a wheelchair, apparently having been injured far worse than she had. That wasn't enough though. Nothing would be enough. Upon seeing his face alone, she wanted to see him suffer.

"There you are, girl!" Marcus exclaimed. "Where have you been this whole time?"

Without a single word, Allison snapped right then and there. She launched herself off of her bed and directly towards Marcus. She began attacking him to the best her still-damaged body would allow. Rage had taken control of her body, and there was not a single thread of relent in her attack.

"Get this bitch off me!" Marcus screamed in a panic. He didn't even bother trying to defend himself.

The nurse tried her best to pull Allison off of him, but another doctor had to come in to help her. All traces of self-control were gone.

"I'll kill you!" Allison screamed at the top of her lungs, "I swear, I'll kill you!" Marcus rolled himself out of the room without another word, Allison still frantically trying to break free and finish him off. "Come back here, you bastard!" she yelled, but he was already long gone, with his proverbial tail between his legs.

To this day she still didn't know how he won the custody case for her against her family. What was even more confusing was why she actually stayed with him. Why would she stay here and live with this abusive creature, of all people, who is to blame for her mother's death, actually taking up two jobs just to be able to support the two of them? Why couldn't she just run away, just say "You know what? Screw you" and walk out? She figured it must have been the same reason Jenna stayed; she felt obligated. Jenna had stayed with this pitiable creature, and with her gone, it just seemed like it was her duty.

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"Eventually you'll just end up like Jenna." Marcus' words hit her consciousness again. "She didn't care about a soul but herself, and look what happened to her."

Her step father's poor choice of words had her turned back around from the door in an instant. She marched towards him and glared into his uncaring eyes. "You, of all people," she said, furiously aiming a finger directly in his face, "have absolutely **no** right to talk about my mother like that!" The expression on her face was only one of pure rage now, full of hatred for Marcus.

Marcus only laughed at her frustration. "Your mother?" he chuckled, 'You think she was your mother? I got news for you, baby doll; she was only your step mother. You _real _mother left you for dead a long, long time a-" Before he could get one more word out, Allison had already driven a fist directly into his mouth.

Blood and teeth quickly spilt out onto the floor in front of Marcus. At the sight of this, he immediately leaped up. "You little bitch!" he screamed, despite the amount of teeth he was now missing. He had attempted to strike her down with his fist, but before it even hit, Allison had already taken him down to the floor with a thud.

Allison looked down at her step father in disgust. "Never again" she said, and turned towards the door again.

"If you leave," he screamed, "you can forget about coming back!" An empty threat. The door slammed behind her with one swing, and that was all.

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	4. First Sign of the Morning Light

Hey there, crazy people. SoS here. Been looking forward to the next chapter? I sure hope so, because here it is. I admit, it's a bit short in comparison to my other chapters, and it may not be the best thing I've ever written, but what can I say? You're not paying, so why complain?

I still look forward to any comments/suggestions/complaints/etc. that any of my readers have, and I'll try to get the next chapter out ASAP.

Well, I suppose that's all I have to say today, so here it is: Ch 4 of Black & Blue.

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Disclaimer: I still don't own the rights to anything, blah blah blah…

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Chapter 4: First Sign of the Morning Light

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"So you just walked out?"

"That's what I just said, yeah."

"And you're really not going back?"

"Nope."

"Allie, do you really think this is the ri-"

Allison growled. "What did I tell you about calling me _'Allie'_?"

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"Yeah yeah… just don't do it again, okay _Leonard_?"

Leon cringed at the mere mention of that name. "Seriously, I die a little inside whenever someone calls me that…" he said, groaning.

Allison smirked. "I know. Why else do you think I say it?"

The two sat underneath an old, withering tree on the outskirts of town, watching as the sky grew darker, and lights in the various homes flickered on. Allison curled up slightly into Leon's arms, and he held onto her, trying to comfort her concerning the events of that evening. A few fallen leaves crunched between them as they came together.

Ever since the car crash, Leon Church had been by Allison's side to care for her. Even when she claimed that she wanted to be alone, he was still there for her. He was even beaten for it once or twice, but he still stayed with her. She called him _'clingy',_ but deep down she knew that he only cared. Hell, few people _did_ care lately. Ever since Marcus won legal custody over her, her connections to her new family just seemed to fade away. Leon was pretty much all she had at the time, and eventually she ended up getting used to having him around. From there, their relationship just seemed to happen. Leon more than gladly accepted his place by her side.

"Don't worry," Leon said, "once I have enough money for that motorcycle I told you about, we can leave this place and forget all about it. I promise."

Allison groaned. "You keep saying that. Be realistic. We're not any closer to leaving than we were the last time you said it, are we?"

"I just need a couple more months! Just two more months, and we'll hit the road and never come back."

"Leon, I'm serious. Get your head out of the clouds."

"I _am_ being serious. Someday soon, you and I are going to leave this place. Just wait and see."

Allison gave him a sly grin and ruffled his rugged, spiky black hair. "Leon, you can barely make it through one week at school without getting pantsed. You really think you can make it out there in the world on your own?"

This seemed to unsettle Leon. He then let go of her, sat up and shot her a glare. "That's right, keep making jokes, Allison. One of these days though, you'll see. One of these days, the world will be ours, just like I promised you. Remember, you're not the only one who wants to get out of here."

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And he was right. Leon hadn't exactly come from a perfect home either. Living with his parents, oil tycoons, a couple of upper class snobs, he was one of those children that was always expected to be perfect in every way. For a good portion of his life, his parents' plans for him went exactly as he had hoped. His parents enrolled him into the most prestigious schools money could buy and worked him to the bone, keeping him up at all hours of the night if necessary. _'Perfection is everything'_, they said. He was a straight-A student, never caused any trouble, and never thought for himself, until the day he decided that he wanted to enter the public school system. His parents were against it from the very beginning, but Leon argued that it was crucial to his education, that he know just how the average child lived.

Upon seeing him, young Leonard was the general target of nearly every single student around him. It all happened so quickly. Even the usual student targets joined in on the torture soon enough. After one year, he was crushed to see that his hopes of being a normal child would be blown away, just because he was different. Not even different, but better! It didn't make any sense to him. He even attempted to adapt to their ways, of general disregard and uncaring for everything around them, but still the torture continued.

Though he gained no results from this little experiment, something strange had happened. He began growing accustomed to behaving the way he was. From that point onward, Leon's grades declined rapidly, his appearance changed drastically, and he went into a state of sheer apathy. His parents, instantly infuriated by their son's change, denied him his inheritance from that day forward, just like that. Leon didn't care though. Something about his new habits just seemed a whole lot more enjoyable than aiming for perfection all his life. Anyway, his parents' reaction could have been worse. They would have disowned him as well, if they had ever found out about his short stint of drug usage during this time. Leon never really picked that up as a habit. Luckily, that was a part of this transformation that didn't stick.

Now forever labeled as _"a disgrace to the Church family name"_ in his parents' eyes, and the very definition of a target to the vast majority of the youth of the community, Leon became a literal outcast, just barely able to even exist without some sort of torture. He only had one sanctuary, and that was Allison. For some reason, she was one of the only people who never gave him any sort of trouble just for being himself. It only made sense that he would end up clinging to her the way he did.

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Leon repeated himself again. "Please, just two more months, I promise."

A thought suddenly popped into her head. "No…" Alison said, "I have a better idea…"

Leon waited for her to continue, but she seemed to be deep in thought. "And that would be…?" he asked impatiently, attempting to snap her out of her sudden trance.

Her eyes staring off into the night sky, a plan began to form in her mind. Old memories came flashing back to her: the orphanage, the letter, her plans of escape, her dreams, Jenna, Marcus, that hospital room, Leon, and even pieces that she had long since forgotten. Every event of her young life fell out in front of her for her to see, and she could see the next steps on her path.

Allison then turned to him; her expression changed. She seemed much more serious now, staring straight into his eyes. "Where's the nearest army recruitment station?" she asked.

Leon only stared at her in a mixture of shock and confusion. After a good five seconds, he finally replied with, "You're kidding!" His eyebrows arched inward, and his eyes almost fell back into his skull. "Wha… You… You can't seriously… Why…" He went on like that for a while, trying to change Allison's mind, or at least her expression. Her stare never faltered though. Her mind was set, and Leon's words weren't getting through.

Finally, after letting out a long sigh, Leon was able to pull together an entire sentence. "Now hold on." he said, cynically. "You're telling me that you want to join the army…?"

"Yes." Allison responded.

The exaggeration in his voice increased with each question. "The ARMY. Not something smaller, like the police?"

She shook her head slowly. "No."

"And you want to go join it… Right now."

She only nodded.

He stared at her again, just trying to let his brain process what she had just told him. After another ten seconds, he had one last question.

"Okay… Why?"

She wanted to tell him. She wanted him to know the truth, about her mother, but she just couldn't bring herself to tell him. Something deep down told her that if she had told him the truth that she would end up sounding like some kind of nut job.

"I have my reasons…" was all she said.

"You have your reasons…" he repeated. "Since when are we keeping secrets here?"

Allison looked away from him. "I can't tell you," she answered, "not now."

Leon was starting to give in, and she could sense it. "Well…" he said hesitantly, "Are you sure you don't want to go with the motorcycle? I swear, all I need is a couple more months…" They both knew he was just trying to delay for time. There was no way they were going to be on the road anytime soon.

Allison didn't want to leave Leon, but this was something she had to do. She needed to get away from everything; this town, Marcus, everything. It had been years since she had given up on her dreams of joining the army, and hopefully finding some information on her mother. When Jenna took her in, her lessons of peace and kindness took hold. Ever since then, she had planned to stay as far away from the army life. She still clung to her mother's letter though; keeping it folded up and stuffed in her right boot.

"Leon…" Allison sighed, struggling to keep the emotions she felt in her heart from escaping. "Please understand. I need to do this."

His lowered his head with guilt, and reluctantly, he gave in. "I'm going with you."

Allison's eyes widened and she turned to him in surprise. With the shock of his declaration, she could feel herself losing control of her composure, but there was no stopping that now.

"What?" she asked, at a loss for words.

"I said I'm going with you." he repeated. "That's all there is to it."

"Wha-No!" she shouted. "You can't come. This kind of stuff is too dangerous."

"Exactly. I can't just let you go and do this thing on your own."

Allison glared at him, clenching her fists now, fearful of his safety. "Leon, I told you, no! This is my choice, and I have to do this alone. Besides, if I don't get out of this town _now_, then I don't know _what_ I'll do.

Leon stared into her puzzled eyes for a moment, and then opened his mouth to speak. Immediately, no words came, but he soon let out, "I hate this place too, remember? I have no more reason to stick around than you do." He then smirked and said, "Besides, trust me, you're a lot more dangerous than the army could ever be."

She smiled, still trying to comprehend what he was saying. "You better believe it."

"So… that's it then, I guess, huh?" Leon said.

Allison nodded. "I guess so…"

"We should probably get going then, right?" he said, as he turned his head towards the path back to town.

Allison then paused for a moment and shook her head. "No…" she said sweetly. "Let's go tomorrow morning. As for right now…" She put her arm around his waist and pulled herself closer to him, placing her head on his shoulder. "…let's just stay here…"

Leon turned back to her, and seeing her smiling at him so calmly, so genuinely, immediately made him smile as well. He put his arm around her and held her close, as they were before. The two sat there in each other's arms under that tree for the remainder of the night. Neither of them said another word, and that was enough. If life was no more than that, then they would be content.

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Sleep came easy for Allison. She nodded off in Leon's arms after a few hours, and her unconscious mind escaped one last time to the battlefield. Something was different about it this time. There was no battle going on; no bullets, no soldiers, no blood, no explosions, no pain, no bodies – nothing but a wide open, muddy battlefield, and the dark night sky. Allison stood there in the middle of it all, looking around her. Suddenly she heard a voice from behind her. It was a voice she knew well by now.

"Allison!" a woman shouted.

She turned around, to see the mysterious female soldier of her dreams again. She was in the distance, running towards her, seemingly in a panic.

Allison could hardly know what to do. She called out to her, unsure if her assumptions were correct. "…Mother!"

"Allison!" the woman shouted back. The two finally came together, and the soldier shouted again, "Allison! What are you doing out here! You should have left when you had the chance!"

"What are you talking about?" Allison said, confused by this woman's apparent desperation.

The woman shook her head. "There's no time to explain. You have to get out of here, now!"

"Not yet!" Allison shouted. "There's something I have to know! Are you really my mother!"

"Allison, what are you talking about! There isn't time for this!" The soldier then put her hand on the front of her visor, and began to pull it up, when everything suddenly went dark. Allison felt herself being shook gently, and her eyes opened, to see Leon, trying to wake her up.

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"Hey," he said. "You almost missed it."

"Missed… what?" she responded groggily.

He turned and pointed out in front of them at the horizon. "Sunrise."

Allison stared into it, astonished. She had seen the sun rise before, but never from that spot. She didn't know if it was the angle they were at, or the seasons, or if it was some sort of freak event, but this had to be the singular most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

"Wow…" was all that was able to escape her lips.

"Yeah…" Leon responded. "You know, this may be our last sunrise togeth-" Before he could finish, Allison leaned over and kissed him, rendering him silent for the remainder of the event. Never before had the two kissed, and apparently Allison's had the power to silence people.

Once the sun was completely out, the two both waited for the other to say something to break the silence. How does one just out and say "_well, and now onto one of the single most important events in our lives"_?

Finally, Leon managed to let out a "Well…", followed by Allison nodding slowly and finishing for him.

"Let's go."


	5. Life Choices

Hey, SoS here. Strange fact: I've had this chapter done for a week now, but I am only NOW posting it here. Why, I have absolutely no idea. Anyway, here it is.

Seriously folks, comments? Yes, I am a comment whore.

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Disclaimer: I do not own this stuff, etc. etc. etc.

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Chapter 5: Life Choices

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The two arrived at the recruitment station too early, apparently, so they were forced to wait outside the building until somebody showed up. No one made it common knowledge that even army recruiters like to sleep in. They had nowhere else to go though, so they figured they decided they would just wait there until someone showed up.

"Allison… I need to know…"

There was a short awkward silence before he continued. Apparently he didn't know quite how to put what he wanted to say. He must have decided to just forget about the wording and ask her, because he flinched and shook his head just before he continued.

"Why did you kiss me, just now?"

Allison didn't respond. She know herself, in reality. True, the two did refer to each other as "boyfriend" and "girlfriend", but even with all of the time they spent together, things never really became romantic between them. Leon had made attempts in the past, but they were declined each and every time. He had always wondered just why she was always avoiding him in that sense.

Due to this unexplained separation of sorts, Leon's suspicions made themselves known time and time again. He had thought that she was cheating on him, or using him for his money, considering that she was constantly borrowing money from him, without ever repaying him. His suspicions about the money were put to rest for a time though, once Allison finally told him the truth about her family, and that she was working at numerous jobs just to keep herself and Marcus alive at the time. Leon was easily able to put her debts aside after hearing that story. He still wondered why she was so distant at times though.

"Still time to turn back if you want." Allison said. "I won't hold it against you if you do."

"Forget it. I'm coming with you. Don't try and convince me to do otherwise."

They both went back to being silent again.

The area all around them, especially the recruitment center, were covered in patriotic Blue Army flags. The hawk and two swords: the very symbol of the Blue forces themselves. The war was always a hot topic those days, supporters of both the red and blue sides, feeling so much hatred for each other – sometimes not even for their actions but simply for the fact that they support the side opposing theirs. In fact, some people didn't even know what the armies were fighting for, or what they supported, but they supported the war all the same. The difference of color alone was pitting friends against friends, and tearing families apart.

Suddenly, the two heard the door being unlocked from the inside. It opened, and a man in a military uniform peered out. The man eyed them up and down, and then glared at them, as if he was disgusted by their appearance. "You two joining up?" he asked.

They both nodded in unison, and the door was then opened. Upon entrance, there was a bit of surprise. Unlike what they were expecting, the Blue Army recruitment building didn't have all that much to it. There was the one main room that they had just entered, with a few desks and computers in it, and then a few back rooms behind closed doors. A recruitment officer sat at each desk, apparently waiting for the first applicants of the day to arrive.

The room, as expected though, was covered in even more Blue flags than the outside was. They were probably placed there to try and enhance the applicants' patriotic feelings towards their cause, just in case any of them got cold feet when they walked in the door. It was almost sad, actually, just how desperate the army seemed to be to get new recruits. It was common knowledge that the Blue Army already outnumbered the Red forces. The difference was so great, in fact, that they Reds actually started the first army draft in almost two-hundred years. According to the news, even though some reluctant Reds didn't want to join the army, they didn't try to escape their drafting, only due to the fact that they hated the Blue Army more than joining itself.

Allison and Leon shot a quick look to each other, and then each proceeded to a different desk. The questionnaires they both had to answer were surprisingly brief. Just a quick description of their names, ages, and all that.

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'Mother's maiden name…" Allison thought to herself. She knew her mother's last name, which was hers now, but she never knew if that was her maiden name, or one gained from a marriage. She assumed the worst, considering she was put up for adoption. Jenna had taught her as a child, that people sometimes do desperate things at desperate times. Adoption definitely seemed desperate to her, so there must have been an important reason. Allison had decided in her own mind that her mother must have been young and confused, as most parents are who consider adoption as a choice in these matters. With that unofficial information, she placed down "Beth" for that question.

All of the questions for her father though, were somewhat more difficult to answer. She had never known, or even heard about her own father, so the answers didn't come so quickly. She considered Marcus' name, since he was her step father, but she preferred not to have her name affiliated with his in any way ever again. There was little choice though, considering she was told not to leave anything blank, but it pained her to do it. Each letter of his name that she wrote brought back more hatred for him. Allison had been raised by Jenna to be calm and understanding of most people, but with her death, and after living with Marcus for as long as she did, a large portion of those lessons were lost.

Surprisingly, the rest of the questions flew by with complete ease, after those. So many memories came forth, with just two questions. She was expecting more, but to her relief, that was all the re-living she was going to do that day.

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"_Leonard L. Church…"_ Leon repeated to himself mentally, as he wrote it down on the questionnaire he was handed. He cringed each time he had to write down his name, and clutched the pencil harder in his grip. That name had always irked him, even when he was still accepting his parents' demands. It always sounded so fake to him, like his parents named him that for the mere purpose of trying to make him sound more important than he was. Each thought of his parents sickened him once his lifestyle started to change; the way they dressed, the way they spoke, even the way they sat drove him crazy. He had tried in the past to accept them, as he wanted them to accept him, but their very selves repulsed him, how they thought they were so much better than everyone else around them. It was when he recalled these memories that he was actually glad that he was joining the army. He would never have to deal with those two again.

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Allison's recruitment officer read over her information as he typed it into his computer. He paused once he came across the portion with Marcus in it.

"I see your mother re-married?" he said, making sure.

Allison was stunned by his question. The mistake was understandable, but she never even considered what that would be like. Samantha Beth, the woman who left her on the Open Arms' doorstep, and Marcus, the self-righteous, overbearing drunkard who had ruined her life for the second time, together? The very mention of it was inconceivable. At least on one hand Allison didn't know Samantha enough to hate her, but she definitely had some sort of resentment towards her. With Marcus, there was no question, but it was dumbfounding all the same.

It was a good minute before Allison responded to the officer.

"Oh- No," she said, "I was adopted."

"I see." the officer said.

_"I see?"_ she repeated to herself in her head. Was there a problem? Does it matter that she was adopted? She could still get in to the army, couldn't she?

"Is there a problem?" she asked, nervous.

"No, no problem." he responded, reassuring her. "It's just that I don't hear much about adoptions these days. I didn't even think there were any orphanages around nowadays."

Allison thought to herself, _"Idiot…"_ and responded to him. "Yes, there are."

"Well, I suppose you're living proof of that."

_"No thanks to the orphanage…"_ she thought, as she gently placed her hand on the scar on her leg from one of her many escape attempts.

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"And final signature here," Leon's officer said, as he nearly finished up

Leon just then spotted out of the corner of his eye, the man who had greeted him and Allison at the door a few minutes ago was now peering at him through the door of one of the back rooms.

Leon turned to his officer as he finished writing down his name. "What's _his_ problem?" he asked, nodding in his direction.

"Oh, don't mind him" he said. "He's just been stressed out recently, because his brother's been giving him a hard time about him work for the Blue Army. Y'see, his brother's a Red."

"Wow, that's _got_ to suck." Leon said.

"Yeah, this whole war is really getting to people, breaking apart families and all..."

Leon was suddenly reminded of his parents, and his family. What will they think when they find out that he's gone? Would they even _consider_ the idea that he'd be in the army? Probably not. They'll most likely think that he just ran off like any other "humiliation" of a child, and won't be coming back. At least they would be happy, Leon thought.

The officer continued. "You know, his kid looks a lot like you. We don't get many kids who look quite like you in here. Why are you joining today? Be honest."

Leon gave a quick glance in Allison's direction, and then back at him.

"You serious?"

Leon nodded. "We both have our reasons to want to get out of this town, and she says she has reason to join up. I figure as long as we're both aiming to get out of here, I may as well stick with her."

"Joining the army to stay with your girl…" he said, almost stunned, "You got guts, kid, I got to say. You're crazy, but you definitely got guts."

His words of praise didn't mean much to him though. He was caught on the "your girl" part of what he had said. Could Allison really be considered "his"? They had only just that morning had their first kiss, after all.

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"So tell me," Allison said, "just how quickly can you get me out of here?"

The recruit officer looked puzzled by her question. "In a hurry, are we Miss Beth? What's the rush?"

Allison scanned her brain for all possible answers she had given in the past. _"I have my reasons"_ wouldn't fly too well with an official person such as this, and saying _"none of your business"_ wouldn't exactly be the smartest thing to say either. She wanted to tell him about her mother, but he would only suggest to look through their records. That wasn't good enough though. She had to see her with her own eyes. Suddenly something came to her; something that just seemed to pop into her head at that very second.

"It's always been a dream of mine to kill for a living." she said with a sly grin. "I have no real training, so I figured I'd join the army."

The officer laughed at her joke. "A mercenary, huh? That's pretty funny."

Allison was relieved that she was able to kid her way out of the question. There was no truthful response that she could think up at the time. The second she answered though, of course, she finally came up with quite a few answers she could have gave instead.

"Well, it seems you're in luck." the recruit officer said, as his fingers typed furiously away at the keyboard.

Allison arched an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"Because", he said, looking up at her from his computer with a grin, "the very next ride out of here is today."


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